Elder Zach Brown- Chile Concepción Mission

Monday, July 7, 2014

Welp, there is no
denying it now. Last p-day. I am officially old in the mission. But not
finished yet--there are still families out there for me to find this week! I
really want to leave my comp, Elder M, ready for a great month in August, as
well as the zone. So, working hard to keep up a good diligent and obedient
example. In every moment we are disciples of Christ and people are watching
that, whether we realize it or not. I hope my efforts these last two cambios
have had some real effect on some people.

Today we had a big
cookout with the zone--it was super fun; we made custom shirts that say the
zone stuff on them, and used the extra money to buy meat and bread and all this
good stuff—tasty! Everyone had a good time, and at the end we did a tie trade,
so win-win! I left with some real winners. It’s amazing how many more ties I
have now than when I started! But they are good ‘uns.

Things are going well,
Elder M and I are having fun. The members here are great and we have really built
our confidence with them, so that they are willing to do visits with us
whenever; one of the members here, Hna C, brought a less active with her to
church without any pushing from us, even!

Excited to keep
working hard this week! Please keep praying for us so that we can be blessed in
the work of the Lord!

Elder Brown

The mission logo: Obedience, Sacrifice, Consecration, Vision. Amen.

Zone leader duties...Talking to President in his problem-solving position.

Monday, June 30, 2014

It’s been a great week, we are working hard and talking with lots of people. It’s
been slow with the mundial [World Cup soccer tournament] but
unfortunately/fortunately Chile is now out so things should start getting back
to normal a little bit, or at least that is the idea. It’s been fun, though; it’s
great to learn about all the different culture that there is out there--soccer
really is pretty interesting in the way it can bring people together (and drive
them apart) and unify their countries.

We have been blessed
with great members in this ward, members that have really taught me a lot. We
are working to try and be able to find better with them, as well--that seems to
be the hardest thing for most members, to be willing to try to share the gospel
with people that still do not know it. It shouldn’t be awkward or that hard,
though, if we just explain that it really is something that has brought us so
much happiness and that’s why we want to share it.

It’s been a fun week,
and we are excited for this next week--we designed t-shirts for the zone and
they are coming this week, so we are all excited to see how they turned out--pics
for sure next week. Also, an Area Seventy, Elder Waddell, came to our zone
leadership council this morning. He had some amazing things to say and
basically just gave a great sum-up as to what the mission work is all about, with
some great insights into some great doctrine and scriptures. He summed up
everything that I have been feeling lately pretty well. [See Zach’s
summation paragraph, written for the ward newsletter, below.]

Excited
for this next week! I hope everyone sees progress, as well!Elder Brown

Zach's Summation of What He Has Learned on His Mission

The Spirit makes or breaks any work we want to
do; when we are able to recognize its promptings and follow them boldly, we
will never fail. Success is guaranteed. What we need to do is live worthy of
our covenants--not only obeying the commandments but also sacrificing ourselves
and consecrating our desires to what the Lord needs from us and for us.
Obedience, Sacrifice, and Consecration is what the Lord expects from us. It’s
easy to talk about but hugely difficult to accomplish consistently. For me, the
most important aspects of consecration that I think make the difference are
obeying and sacrificing with a good attitude and with a smile siempre [always],
and having our desires completely focused, or consecrated, on serving the Lord.
Doing that, the Spirit is guaranteed to accompany us always; to give us the
energy and courage we need to keep improving every day; to give it a little bit
more the next day than we did the day before; to help him in his eternal work
of sealing families, and eternal life to not only us and our families, but to
every person out there. Obviously, none of this is possible without the example
of Jesus Christ, who demonstrated perfect obedience, sacrifice, and
consecration in everything He did, giving us the Atonement, the possibility to improve. The
Atonement is absolutely essential to all this. Every day we need to apply it
personally.

Monday, June 23, 2014

It has been a great
week, even if it has been a little more difficult with this whole soccer world
cup thing that we hear is happening. Just kidding, this whole soccer thing is
Chilean life right now; I’ve never seen so much disobedience, craze, etc over a
sport. I mean, March madness can get crazy and stuff, and I tented and
everything, but Chile España has gotten to a whole new level of crazy.
President has been telling us to just stay in the house during games, and then
be careful after, but after the games, people are just going crazy. But the
work goes on.

We haven’t been able
to get hold of J all week, seems she has been dodging us. So we are still
looking for more prepared people to find. I am determined to leave this sector
a lot better than I found it, and leave Elder M with everything he needs so
that the zone can just explode with success.

We have been working
hard and stressing obedience with the zone. We are proud of our missionaries,
for the most part, for their dedication to the commandments we have as
missionaries. It reminds me of a great video about a horse, from seminary days,
I think--the horse is trained to come when the bell rings, and learns to be
obedient, but then he goes without water, and gets let loose, and right when
getting to the water, they ring the bell. That’s the question for all of us; to
what level do we take our obedience? Do we have little things that are just too
much, or that we choose not to obey, justifying that we are mostly obedient, or
that it’s not that bad what we are doing? It happens a lot, and obviously we
all have things to improve, but it’s sad to see when people blatantly rebel
against what they know is right.

We have been talking
with lots of people, and are giving a good example to our missionaries of
diligence and obedience. The blessings of investigators aren’t coming yet, but
they I’m sure they will. So we are just going to keep on keeping on!

Monday, June 16, 2014

It’s been a good week
this week! We saw a miracle! J, our investigator, that has been coming along
little by little, finally took the next big step and came to church! It was
great. After, we talked with her pareja as well (which is a bummer she is not
married), but he is great, and Peruano, which is a win for us as well, since my
comp is, too, and he was nice. They could totally be my mission wedding and
baptism! It’s gonna happen!

We have been working
hard to find new people, as well, but it’s been going slowly. We talk with a
ton of people and have been trying to help the members here participate more in
that, as well, but it’s a process. This is the last week for me to bring new
people to church that could get baptized before I leave, however, so I’m going
to be giving it all I’ve got for sure.

Father’s Day yesterday
was great; we had lunch with the fam Parra; they are favorites, so great. And
yesterday was the first time that anyone has ever asked us to do division-- two
young men, good kids, asked us to invite them, so that was neat, as well.

Pray for things to go
well this week for the zone, and the work in general! The power of prayer
really is incredible.

Love you all!
Elder Brown

Zach's companion, from Peru, celebrating World Cup soccer with Lay's potato chips' Peru flavor, even though Peru isn't in the World Cup...

Monday, June 9, 2014

It’s been a good week,
having fun with Elder M. This guy is a stud! He is just starting out as zone
leader and is definitely just a good solid person. Really humble, really nice,
loves everyone, and just pumped to learn and work hard. It has been a slow week
for us with the finding, but we are being very diligent and obedient and the
blessings are going to come. Hopefully sooner rather than later so I can see
some more white before July!

He is from Peru and
knows how to cook, which every house we go into asks him and wants to make use
of, we have been invited to so many lunches in the past few days! Not that I
blame them, Peruvian food is amazing. So that adds some spice (literally) to
the same ol’ same ol’ Chilean cuisine.

The zone is really
progressing, besides for one or two problem sectors, everyone has really been
working hard and the blessings are coming. We always work with goals as a zone
as well, and this month we are not only going to meet them, I think, but we should
be able to do way better! And I know that as we remain faithful to our plans,
and really do what the Lord wants in each sector, it’s going to happen. The
blessings always come.

It’s been a great week
as far as the Spirit goes; we have had some great short lessons with people,
and we are going to keep working on getting a good commitment out of people. We
had some good talks about the difference between the gift of the Holy Ghost and
just feeling it, and what it means to be "strong in the spirit,” as it says
in D&C 84:106, if I’m not mistaken. To me, that strength in the spirit
comes from 1) recognizing it, and 2) following it always. If that were a
pattern we would all follow more strictly, I imagine the results would really
show.

So much rain! Pray for
this week to be not as rainy. We have been working hard to run and stuff, too,
but I’m kind of sick. But just details; the work goes on. Like the talk from
Elder Holland says, it’s hoped for there to be a stinkin’ ambulance waiting to
receive returning missionaries for giving it their all to the end. Challenge
accepted.

So,
it’s been a great week. A great way to finish the cambio with Elder H. Gonna
miss this guy, a real good leader. He is going to go be with my kid, Elder D,
in Linares now!

This week, we put a
big focus on exact obedience, talking with everyone, and always inviting to
baptism in the first lesson. That was what our zone class was on, and we just
kept it simple, presented it firmly, and the missionaries are starting to get
it. And even starting to apply it--which is sometimes, unfortunately, an
entirely different thing!

This week, EVERY
STINKIN’ SECTOR in the zone did more than 140 contacts. So proud of these kids!
Great to see. Unfortunately, it hasn’t really paid off yet... but it will.

Some of our miracles
this week--we did not even get wet. It was supposed to rain and stuff but it
didn’t. Great miracle. Also, we contacted a less active guy in the street, and
on Sunday he came to church with his wife. They are great, the only problem is
that he works in the north in the mines, so we aren’t going to be able to go by
until next week. But they even stayed for the classes, this guy bore his
testimony, and the class was on BAPTISM, and the wife had lots of good
questions. So we are going to try and get something going there. The others are
all are kind of progressing a little but it’s been tough. We are basically
starting over though with this cambio... But maybe going by now will be what
they need... maybe they will just have been waiting for a Peruanito and a Gringuito
to knock on their door again! So hopefully we will see some more families found
this week. It’s time!

Working hard and
staying on our toes, what with all the changes and problems and challenges and
miracles of daily mission life.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Last week, Zach didn't have time to write us a full letter; luckily, we had had a great Skype visit with him the day before (Mother's Day), so we survived. Here's what he sent this week:

May
26, 2014

Well
family, and friends, and all, heelloooooo!!!!

We have been
practicing being firm but loving, and we have started to see some good changes.
Being responsible for these missionaries has really taught me a lot of
patience, and love, and the need to be firm sometimes. I am thankful for that;
I’m sure it will serve me very well later in life.

We went to Concepcion
for council today, had some great talks. This week, we had a slow week as
far as the finding goes but I love my companion. We have just kept up a great
attitude, and we are working hard. We had found no one the entire week, which
is an embarrassment, after really working at it, and were feeling kind of down,
but just kept doing the work and Sunday night we found a great lady that accepted
baptism and learning more! She has a lot of problems but I have the faith, and
we are going to start on the works to help the Lord get her there. Her name is
J.; Pray for her!

I have to run. It’s
been a crazy day! But I will see you next week! Love to all!

Elder Brown

This and the following five photos are from a great P-day activity on May 18 that involved a big hike to some steam vents. He said they smelled really terrible (sulfur) but it was beautiful, and he found snow, which he was excited about.

Elder Brown's Address

Elder Zachary D. Brown

Chile Concepcion Mission

Castellon 1063 Casilla 2210Oficina Norte

Concepcion, CHILE

FYI: Zach will be released on July 15, followed by a few days of travel through Chile with Mom and Dad, then return to Utah on July 20. His homecoming address will be on July 27 at 11:00am at the Riverwood Ward (300 W 3700 N in Provo). All are welcome! That evening (Sunday), we will host an open house from 6:30-8:00pm in our yard for Zach, as well as Mike Poret and Kristy Rich, two neighbors and friends who will be released from their missions on the same day as Zach. Please come welcome these three great missionaries home!

About Zach's Mission

Zach Brown will be serving as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Chile Concepcion Mission from August 2012 until August 2014. He will be sharing the Gospel in the Spanish language.